For Anheuser-Busch InBev's third-quarter 2017 results, here's a look at the events that shaped the three months to the end of September for the company.

At the start of July, a number of Anheuser-Busch InBev's US breweries accused craft trade body the Brewers Association of starting a "civil war" in the country's beer industry through the launch of an independent seal.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) said on October 5, 2017 it had completed a deal to sell its 54.5% in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.

The controlling stake was sold to Coca-Cola, the world’s largest soft-drink maker, for $3.15bn.

AB InBev said the two parties were finalizing the terms of the deal, in which Coca-Cola will acquire AB InBev’s interest in, or the bottling operations of, its businesses in Zambia, Zimbabwe,Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho, as well as in El Salvador and Honduras.

Asahi Group Holdings is set to continue its withdrawal from the soft drinks category through its intention to offload stakes in two joint-ventures in Indonesia.

The Japanese multi-category group, best-known for its namesake beer brand, announced at the beginning of October that it has signed a letter of intent to sell off its holdings in Asahi Indofood Beverage Makmur (AIBM) and Indofood Asahi Sukses Beverage (IASB). Negotiations have begun with Asahi's JV partner, Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur about securing a deal.

The 3.3%-abv Heineken 3 has captured almost a third of the Australian premium mid-strength beer market since its launch last year, Heineken has said.

The beer, which is the focus of a new marketing campaign in Australia, accounted for 31% of July sales in the premium mid-strength category, according to scanner data cited by Heineken today. The brand also has a 21% awareness level with 18-65-year-old consumers and a 79% repurchase rate.

The US craft beer segment may have peaked, a new report suggests, as figures show stock keeping unit (SKUs) going into decline.

Overall beer SKUs in the US have more than doubled in the past six years, according to figures collated by Consumer Edge Research. The increase, from 6,388 in 2011 to 13,238 at the end of last year, was driven by a rise in the number of independent brewers alongside the growing demand for craft beer.

However, since the start of this year, SKUs have dropped to 12,786, a decrease of almost 4%.

Asahi is to start producing its Super Dry beer brand in Europe, the brewer's president has told reporters.

Super Dry will begin production at Asahi's Padua factory in the north of Italy, one of the brewing assets it acquired from SABMiller last year, Akiyoshi Koji told Bloomberg in an interview last week. The company will start selling Super Dry in Italy and the UK from January, Koji said.

"I tried the beer there before production began, and the taste was the same as in Japan," Koji said in Tokyo.

Asahi Group Holdings, Japan's largest brewer, is ready to spend "billions of dollars" on acquisitions, having spent $11 billion over the past year to acquire beer brands across Europe from Anheuser-Busch InBev .

Asahi president Akiyoshi Koji said "bolt-on" acquisitions in Europe, including beer makers and distributors, were a priority, as the company carves out a larger slice of the overseas market to compensate for slow growth at home.

He did not specify how much he would spend and did not name potential targets.

The IUF organized a meeting of unions representing AB InBev workers in five different factories in India which was held on September 9-10, 2017.

Unions reported an increase in unfair labour practices following the company’s acquisition of SAB Miller. Practices include company interference in union activities and intimidating attempts to avoid unions meeting together to share experiences and to forge solidarity links across India.

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